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September 30, 2016

Autumn Perfect 1950s Baked Meatloaf Dumpling Recipe

Meatloaf often gets a bum rap and has been the butt of countless TV and movie jokes and zingers over the decades, yet I firmly maintain that a well made meatloaf is a thing of culinary beauty and immense deliciousness alike.

My mom made an excellent meatloaf when I was growing up (which I discussed back in this fun 2015 recipe post starring Crown 'o Gold Meatloaf) and instilled in me a love of this classic dish from a very early age.

Having already essentially covered a jazzed up traditional version in that post (as well as 2014's Vegetable Beef Loaf), instead today I thought it would be fun to take a peak at a lovely meatloaf iteration from 1950 that sees this hearty dish transformed into a dinnertime hand pie of sorts.

There's something both very classic (meat pies having been around for many centuries now) and very mid-twentieth century alike about this super easy, relatively quick recipe.

From the presentation to the near obligatory inclusion of shortening (which, as I always like to say, you can easily nix in favour of your preferred cooking fat, such as butter, margarine or coconut oil), this is straight up fifties, and yet, at the same time, it wouldn't be out of place served up at many modern restaurants today.

It might not be as common as the usual "in a pan" style of meatloaf, but chances are, it's every bit as tasty, while also being a superb dish to bring - wonderfully piping hot - to the table now that the a gentle hit of chill is returning to the air and the nights are drawing ever shorter.

{Elegant enough for a dinner party, but easy enough to serve up any night of the week, this delightful mid-century recipe for Baked Meat Loaf Dumplings is the kind of stick-to-your-ribs fare that’s always a welcome sight once the nippy days of fall roll into town again. 1950s recipe ad via Click America.}

Naturally, you can swap out the beef for any vegetarian/vegan ground meat or meat substitute of your choice. I've been unable to eat beef (or most red meats), due to medical reasons, for over fourteen years, but I haven't let that stop me one iota when it comes to enjoying meatloaf. Instead I simply reach for lean ground chicken or turkey instead.

If you're a fan of, and can eat such, you could also use ground pork, ham, veal, lamb or venison here instead, too, each of which would no doubt be delicious.

The filling here is meat and onion centered, which is of course a terrific combination, but you could easily jazz things up further by adding in diced, chopped or mashed veggies of your choice. Green peas and meatloaf go together beautifully, as to peppers and beef, and either would be a really pleasing combination here.

You could take things one step further still, come to think of it, and include classic mixed vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, carrots, etc) and some (premade) mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes for a really cool take on an the age old favourites that are cottage and shepherd's pies, respectively.

Toss in some cheese, with the fillings of your choice, and things might almost veer into calzone territory! As with many recipes, the sky is the limit when it comes to what could be done here and experimenting is certainly one of the great joys of cooking.

As this 1950s version sits now, it's relatively budget-friendly, and could easily be multiplied to feed larger groups if needed. I suspect, much like classic potpies themselves, that these charming Baked Meatloaf Dumplings would be thoroughly awesome served cold the next day, their flavours having mingled and deepened all the more by that point.

I'm thrilled that autumn is here once more and our ovens will soon be churning out dish after scrumptious dish of comfort food, holiday eats, and beautiful harvest season recipes, like this 1950s dinner table gem, that will always retain their timeless, comforting appeal.

The mere thought of such alone has me smiling as widely the jack-o-lanterns we'll soon be carving for Halloween! :)

28 comments:

Add carrots, potato, and rutabaga to your beef and onion and you have pasties! They may have their roots in Cornwall, but they are the traditional dish of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. --Karen from Michigan

Yum-yum! I had the pleasure of trying pasties while living in Ireland and they're just fantastic. Thank you for the reminder of how similar these two delicious, hearty foods are. I didn't know that they're a staple of that corner of Michigan, too. Very cool!

That reminds me a bit of shepherd's pie, only made individually instead of as one master pie. One of my rebbetzins makes a delicious vegan shepherd's pie for those of us who are vegetarian or vegan. Textured vegetable protein or vegan taco filling/hamburger crumbles would be a good beef substitute.

Years before I was either kosher or vegetarian, I loved my junior high's meatloaf they served in the hot cafeteria. (We had a hot and cold cafeteria, with the hot cafeteria segregated by sex. Girls sat on one side, and boys sat on the other.) Though the scent of beef makes me feel slightly sick after almost 20 years of abstention, I do have fond memories of that wonderful cafeteria meatloaf!

There's definitely a shepherd's/cottage pie vibe at work here, I agree. Isn't it amazing how certain food aroma's can instantly whip us back in time so powerfully that it almost feels as though we could reach out and touch the past with our bare hands? Thank you for sharing one such deeply rooted culinary scent memories of yours with us here.

Doesn't it though? Followed up by an equally hearty, filling fall dessert - say apple crisp or a still-warm-from-the-oven pumpkin cheesecake. Conversely, for a lighter dessert, poached pears or backed apples would be wonderful here, too, I think.

Meatloaf isn't something that is ever so popular over here, it really is lovely though. So satisfying and very cheap to make. I have made it a couple of times, but I've never seen it in this form before. I bet it's lovely though. The one thing I'm very much looking forward to this Autumn, is making and eating some glorious hearty food. Stew and dumplings, shepherds pie, meat and potato pie and the unbeatable Sunday roast, mmmmmmm, sorry about the pool of saliva. Wishing you well my dear xx

Yum, yum and yum again! Those all sound so fabulously delicious - especially the classic British Sunday roast. Such was an occasional occurrence in my household growing up and remains some of my favourite childhood memories. My mom made amazing popovers/Yorkshire pudding and those dipped in a spot of gravy were my favourite element of the meal.

That's really interesting! Are you a fan of garlic? I sometime make an Italian inspired version (how can I not when I'm married to one of Italy's native sons? :)) in which I swirl (pre) slow roasted garlic into the raw meat. The double cooking, in the end, mellows the flavour gorgeously and with a rich tomato sauce plus a sprinkling of cheese on top, almost makes one think of a pasta-less lasagna. Highly recommended if you like garlic.

Thanks, hon! It really is and after talking about this version, I was craving it so much, I made a small garlic chicken meatloaf (in a tomato sauce) both on Wednesday and Thursday night. We're out of ground chicken or else I'd honestly be tempted to make it a hat trick tonight. :)

It's interesting, isn't it, how a dish can be a decades (or even centuries) old classic one part of the world, but those in another may never have tried it (or even heard of it). Just goes to show how vast and diverse our planet - dinner tables very much included - is.

Why do meat-loafs have such a bad reputation?!Over here, it's quite the dish, and there are so many varieties. Let me think.. heck, there's just too many versions of sauces to cover them with, and all the various meats you can make them from, the potential herbs you can add up to give them a bit o "zing". They can go as gar as being "meatless" - using soy chunks. And they can go as plain as using wet old bread as a binder.Basically, what I'm trying to point out: why would anyone mock a dish that is set it's place as "everything goes"?! Why would people make fun of the meal that can be made so elaborate to suit a fancy dinner-table and yet remain so plain that a less fortunate family can have it on a cold winter day..

That is a bit of a mystery for sure. I think that, in North America at least, that perception arose from a few different sources, such as their prevalence at school cafeterias, the fact that they were often made in many homes when money was tight and a pound or two of beef could be stretched amply with the addition of things like breadcrumbs or oats, and that that, if we're been totally honest, not all meatloaves about with flavour. Get a good one though, and it's an absolute culinary delight. Hearty, richly flavourful, filling and just as good (if not better!) the next day, hot or cold.

I'm with you on adoring them and hope that as time goes on, they'll be able to shake off more of their unjustified bad rep.

It's almost lunch time as I'm writing this, and after reading your post and seeing that recipe, I am truly hungry now. Thanks for sharing! Now I'll be of and grab a bite to eat, although it won't be meatloaf dumplings ... A big hug, Ann xxx

Vintage recipes often set my tumbling rumbling, too - especially since I grew up (albeit in the 80s and 90s) eating a lot of the very same kinds of mid-century dishes that I highlight here, so there's a lot of ingrained nostalgia with them for me.

I hope that you had a lovely lunch and that things are well on your end as we bop those these first few days of October.

That's really lovely (and encouraging!) to hear, Denise. Thank you very much. If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out my Vintage Recipe page, where you'll find links to ever recipe (save for if I accidentally forgot to add one to that page) that I've ever shared here on Chronically Vintage over the years: http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/p/vintage-recipes.html

I have to show this to DH, who is my favourite cook. When I see the recipe I cannot help thinking why we ever have thought of that! Such a delicious and brilliant idea, right to my vintage recipe Pinterest board it goes. In Denmark it has gotten seriously cold all of a sudden, so I've started longing for soups and other traditional cold weather comfort food again.

Tomorrow I have hired son to be the muscles and help me setting up my flea supermarket for the coming two weeks. Wish me luck. I hope to sell most of it, both to get rid of it but also to earn a little extra. His lovely girlfriend has said she wanted to help too, so I will invite them out to dinner afterwards. Just the three of us, since DH is abroad bicycling. Have a lovely weekend, dear. :)

Ooohh, a whole week of vacation, how awesomely lovely!!! Organizing your wardrobe and making Halloween decorations sounds like a thoroughly fantastic way to take advantage of some of your time off (those are two of my favourite things to do as well). I hope that you have a fantastic break and that the weather doesn't get to bitingly cold this month.

How wonderful that your husband is your favourite cook. That made me smile so much to read. Aww!!! It's definitely a smart idea and a great way to make a bit of meat go further (something, I would argue, that our foremothers and fathers excelled at). I really hope that you guys adore this tasty dish if you give it a spin.

That's really exciting regarding the flea market. I absolutely, hands down, no questions asked adore selling in person, so my eyes lit up when I read that you'll be doing over the next couple of weeks. I'm wishing you endless luck and wish I lived in your town so that we could either each have tables there and/or I could come shop from yours.

I'm Jessica, a lifelong lover of all things antique and vintage, especially those from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

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